Sometimes watching a movie years after it was released may do some tricks to you. Especially when it stars two women (even back then if I'm not mistaken, grown and not as young as the characters they portray) you have seen in other things. Add to that Greta Scacchi, whom I haven't seen in a while in a movie ... and it's quite the weird experience.

Now having said that, the movie revolves around something mysterious and you should not expect to get too many obvious answers as to why, how or anything that spoon feeds you an answer. So right from that you may understand that this will not play well for probably the majoritiy of viewers. And I really mean this with no judgement, to either the viewers nor the movie itself. You have to like what they are doing and then you are in for a ride - no pun intended, considering the allegedly "strong sex" the BBFC identified in this - which mostly happens with clothed participants and or framed so you won't see much. I only added that for those interested. It should not play a role in if you like the movie or not.

So if you are into the mood the movie portrays, the acting is really good and keeps up with the story, even if it won't tickle everyone or meet their standard of liking.

Set in a small all-girl school in 1969, this film is centred on pupil Lydia Lamont who is virtually inseparable from her best friend Abbie Mortimer. Lydia is not too impressed when Abbie announces that she has started having sex. It soon emerges that Abbie is pregnant and the girls discuss what she should do but then Abbie collapses and dies. Not long after that Lydia faints at school; she isn't the last girl to faint; soon most of the pupils are collapsing as well as a young member of staff. The school authorities have no idea what to do; are the girls all faking it? Is it a case of mass hysteria? Or is there a medical cause? While this is going on Lydia starts to explore her own sexuality and ultimately learns why her mother hasn't left the house for sixteen years.

After hearing some very positive reviews I was a little surprised to see the film's low score and poor reviews here… having seen the film I was less surprised. Personally I thought it was really good but can understand why others wouldn't. If you want an explanation for what is going on you will be disappointed. Writer/director Carol Morley does a great job creating a disturbing atmosphere; nothing really scary happens but there is a general sense of unease and a feeling that something could happen. Sixteen year old Maisie Williams does a brilliant job as the troubled Lydia; it helps that she is the same age as her character. The rest of the cast are impressive too; notably Maxine Peake as Lydia's cold, almost indifferent mother. Overall I thought this was something special, one of those films one keeps thinking about after it has finished, so would certainly recommend it to anybody looking for something rather different; it certainly won't be for everybody though.

What's truly depressing about this film is how many female roles it offered, and how all of them conformed to vapid, tired stereotypes about femininity: women as emotional, irrational, kooky, governed by hysteria and the moon, nature, water - victims of their own bodies which are there to get them raped (which in this film life-destroying, as cliché dictates),pregnancy (which literally and inexplicably kills one character in a regrettable case of 'fridging') or Victorian fainting sickness. It tries to be confrontational in its treatment of female coming of age but has created a vacuous surface-deep depiction that offers girls up as wan little nail-chewing nothings fit for being looked at only, preferably in school uniform. Script dismal, acting heroic considering this. Ghostly recaps of dialogue from five minutes earlier in the film show the director's underestimation of her audience, which might explain why all other elements of theme and plot are equally heavy handed. A coy film that tries to shock with metaphors for female self-pleasuring - when actually a long w*nk at home would have been a much better use of time.